Instagram is not just a platform to share posts and stories. It’s so much more than that. This social media platform also provides users with the space to hold conversations with each other. And, well, Instagram DMs offer various features that make chatting so much more fun and intimate. However, they do not provide users with a feature to hide their chats without deleting them. But if you want to know how to hide Instagram messages without deleting them, keep reading this article, and I’ll walk you through several workarounds for the same.
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Here’s How To Hide Instagram Messages Without Deleting Them Using 4 Smart Ways!
Saying that Instagram doesn’t care about keeping a user’s chats safe is untrue. Instagram does provide users with end-to-end encryption that protects their messages from being read by anyone apart from the person they are sending them to. It’s just that you’d not want someone to accidentally or otherwise open a chat you don’t want to be seen. And because you’d want to delete your precious conversation either, you’d rather hide them somewhere.
Since Instagram doesn’t provide users with a feature to do that, they have to rely on workarounds that will help them achieve similar results. For example, they can move the conversation to another tab, block the user, download their data, or use an app lock.
This might sound a bit confusing to you right now. So, if you want to know how to hide Instagram messages without deleting them in a bit more detail, make sure that you scroll till the end!
How To Hide Instagram Messages Without Deleting By Moving It To Another Tab?
You can always shift a chat from one tab to the other to hide it. This way, the conversation is’ going to show in that particular tab. In other words, it is going to be hidden from the main view. However, you need to have a professional Instagram account to do this. If you meet the criteria, follow these steps:
- Launch the Instagram app on your Android or iOS device.
- Tap on the messenger icon located at the top right side of your home page.
- Then, locate the chat you wish to move. Once you do, press and hold the chat for a second.
- A pop-up will appear on the screen, choose “Move to general” from it.
And, done. The conversation will now be moved to the General tab.
How To Hide Instagram Messages Without Deleting By Blocking The User?
You can hide a conversation you were having with someone by temporarily blocking them. Because when you block someone, the conversation automatically gets hidden. And then, neither can you see the chat nor the other person can.
If this is a method you’d like to use to hide chats, follow these steps:
- Launch the Instagram app on your device
- Tap on the Messenger icon located at the top right corner of the screen.
- Then, scroll through the list of chats to locate the conversation you want to hide. When you do, tap on it.
- When the conversation opens, tap on the username of the person at the top of the screen.
- When the chat settings page opens, tap on the “Privacy & Safety” option.
- Here, under the “Who can reach you” section, you will have the Block options in red. Tap on it.
- A pop-up will appear on the screen telling you what will happen if you choose to block the user. Once you’ve read it all, tap on the “Block” option in blue.
And, done. Now with the user blocked, the conversation you were having with them is going to be hidden as well.
How To Hide Instagram Messages Without Deleting Using App Lock?
Another way of hiding your Instagram messages without deleting them is to lock your Instagram app altogether. There are several ways you can do this. A lot of phones come with an in-built app lock feature. All you have to do is to go to the Settings app of your phone, search for App Lock and toggle it on for Instagram.
To unlock the app, you will have to enter a pin you have set, your password, your Face ID, or Touch ID. However, this process is not the same for all devices.
Alternatively, you can install a third-party app lock on your phone. These kinds of apps work the same way as the inbuilt app locks. However, if you have some trouble with the latter, you can surely go for them. But, do keep in mind that, using third-party apps come with struggles of their own. For example, so many of these apps display ads.
How To Hide Instagram Messages Without Deleting Them By Downloading Data?
Lastly, you can hide your Instagram messages by downloading your data from the app. Now, this isn’t exactly a direct way of hiding messages because you’ll have to delete them eventually. But you still won’t be losing those messages. So, it can work.
If this sounds like a plan, follow these steps:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Tap on the profile icon located at the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Then, tap on the hamburger icon located at the top right corner of the screen.
- Upon doing so, a menu will appear on the screen, choose the “Your Activity” option from it.
- Scroll down to the “Your Activity” page, and you will see the “Download your information” option there. Tap on it.
- Then, tap on “Request a download”.
- From the next screen, tap on the “Next” option at the bottom.
- Now, you have to select the information you want to download. You can either get a complete copy or select the types of information you need, like Messages or photos.
- Since you only need a copy of your messages here, select the latter option.
- Then, tap on “Messages” from the “Select Information” screen and tap on “Next.”
- Lastly, check the mail address a copy of the information will be coming to, check the file format and media quality, and adjust the date range of the messages you want.
- Once all this is done, tap on “Submit Request.”
Instagram will take some time, maybe a week or so, to process your request and get you a copy of your messages. After that, you can delete the conversation.
Final Words
Okay then, everyone! This was how to hide Instagram messages without deleting them! In this article, you guys got to discover several workarounds that you can use to keep your chats safe. So, make use of whichever method you like the best and prevent your chats from being seen! In case you know any other workaround that can help people achieve the same results, please share it with everyone in the comments!
